The magic used by wizards is significantly different from that of the priests, both in where it comes from and how it‘s used. Wizardly magic converts the energy of living things into magical power that can be shaped into spells. Generally, wizards can only tap the energy found in plants; such wizards fall into two categories: preservers and defilers.
Preservers have a deep and abiding respect for the life forces of the world. They take great care to balance their gain of magic against the cost of life energy so as not I to create adverse effects. Preservers take only enough life energy from plants to produce a spell effect, being careful not to take so much that the neighbouring plants can‘t recover.
Defilers, on the other hand, care only for power, revelling in it as it courses through their bodies. They don‘t care about the life forces that are lost when they weave their webs of magic. Nearby plants whither and die when a defiler draws power for his spells, and the fertile soil surrounding him turns to sterile ash. The
House Rules/Campaign Player’s Guide
Page | 97 sorcerer-kings are defilers of the highest order,
and they combine wizardry with psionics. They can draw the energy for spells from not only plants, but from all living things—including animals and humans. This makes the sorcerer- kings extremely powerful and very dangerous to the world and its inhabitants.
Wizardly magic is the cause of most of Athas‘s problems, mostly due to the defilers and the sorcerer-kings. As such, wizards are almost universally feared and shunned. The use of wizardry in many of the city-states is a criminal offense punishable by death.
In the communities beyond the walls of civilization, wizards can sometimes find homes, but more often they find suspicion, fear, and death.
There are a few notable exceptions to the rule. The Free City of Tyr, for example,
welcomes preservers and allows them to openly practice their art. Elf tribes enjoy the protection afforded by wizards, and even provide spell components for sale on the black market. The sorcerer-kings keep a few defilers on hand to provide magical power, though these ―court wizards‖ are usually kept in secret and out of the public eye.
In most other places, wizards (defilers and preservers both) must hide their true identities. A secret organization called the Veiled Alliance operates in many cities, towns, and villages, offering some small aid to preservers, but otherwise wizards are on their own.
Psionics
The third supernatural force prominent in the world is psionics, the power of the mind.
Psionics isn‘t magic. It doesn‘t use power provided by an outside agent or pulled from an external source. Instead, psionics draws upon the user‘s own inner resources to produce
extraordinary effects.
Psionics is one of the cornerstones of Athasian life and society. Most living things possess some ability to use psionics, and all have developed at least minimal defences against it. Almost every individual in the world is at least a wild talent, and even plants and animals have
developed psionic disciplines to help them survive the brutal wilderness. In civilized regions, psionics has become a tool for advancement and political survival.
A few have advanced beyond the natural talents they were born with to become full- fledged psions. These people study and practice, honing their psionic abilities to great heights. A psion works to perfect mind, body, and spirit into a unified, powerful whole. With an internal (or psionic) strength that comes from deep inside (from a place referred to as ―the nexus‖), a psion gives form and purpose to his will.
Athasians call innate psionic ability ―the Will,‖ though psions also refer to their reserve of mental strength with this term. Wild talents have the Will, but rarely can they move beyond the single ability nature has provided them. The study of psionics and the refinement of psionic ability is called ―the Way.‖ While the Will makes the use of psionics possible, only through the Way can a person truly master the powers of his mind.
Unlike other forms of magic, psionics is an accepted part of life on Athas. Wild talents and psions aren‘t feared. Instead, a community‘s psionic members are valued as vital assets and encouraged to improve. In many ways, psionics has become the edge needed to compete and survive in this unforgiving and dangerous world. Some even believe that psionics can be used to compensate for the deterioration of Athas‘s vital resources, but this has yet to be proven in any significant manner.
Every city in the Tyr Region has schools devoted to the Way, and wandering teachers can even be found in the wilderness. It isn‘t unusual for a priest or a wizard or a warrior to attend an Academy of the Way to develop his or her psionic abilities. Rumours of a psionic fraternity called the Order persist throughout the Tyr Region. Whether this rumour is true or the whispered speculations of sun-addled minds is often debated over a warm cup of Broy on a slow tavern night.